Apparatus and method for separating fibres from plants

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to separating fibres from plant straw where the separated fibres retain properties that are favourable for manufacturing textiles. Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an apparatus that comprises multiple separation-units for separating the desired fibres from the other constituent components of the plant straw. The apparatus may further comprise a recycling system for fluids used within the one or more separation units. Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method for separating fibres from the other constituent components of the plant straw.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending InternationalApplication No. PCT/CA2017/050993 filed Aug. 23, 2017, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and additionallyclaims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/378,506 filedAug. 23, 2016, which is incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of textiles made from plantmaterials and, in particular, to an apparatus and method for separatingfibres from plants for producing fibres with the desirablecharacteristics of cotton for use in the textile or apparel industries.

BACKGROUND

Plant fibres are used to produce textiles from which a wide variety offabrics and cloths can be manufactured. The demand for plant fibrescontinue to grow with a growing consumer demand for natural materialsand products. However, before a plant fibre can be used for large-scaletextile applications desirable textile-properties must be met. Examplesof these desirable textile-properties include, but are not limited to:uniformity, flexibility, fineness, cohesiveness, tenacity, absorbency,pliability, and amenability to various textile processing and/ortreatments must be met.

The fibres of plants such as hemp, flax, jute, nettle, ramie and thelike, are known to have such desirable textile-properties and have beenutilized for a wide variety of different textiles. For example, grass,rush, hemp, and sisal are used in making rope. Coir (coconut fibre) isused in making twine, mats, and sacking. Fibres from pulpwood trees,cotton, rice, hemp, and nettle are used in making paper. Flax, jute,hemp, ramie, bamboo, and even pineapple fibres are used in clothing.However, the applications of these fibres are currently somewhat limitedas compared to more typical plant-based fibres, such as cotton.

One plant which has not been widely utilized for the production oftextiles is the rape plant, which is a plant in the genus Brassica. Themost commonly recognized variety of the rape plant is the low erucicacid and low glucosinolate variety known as canola, rapeseed 00, ordouble zero rapeseed. There are many species of rape plants that fallwithin the genus Brassica, all of which are collectively referred toherein as canola plants or canola.

Canola is one of the world's main oilseed crops. Canola is grown as asource for two primary products: canola oil and canola meal. The roundcanola seeds are crushed to produce canola oil and the remainder isprocessed into a high-protein meal. Canola plants can also be used as aninput for biodiesel production. Beyond these products, the canola plantdoes not have widely recognized value. As a result, approximately 40million tons of canola stalks are available after harvesting of theround seeds. The stalks are a by-product material that is typicallyconsidered waste and it is ploughed back into the soil, burned, or usedas animal bedding. Commercial application of this canola by-productwould, therefore, be desirable to maximizing the economy of thisvaluable resource.

PCT/CA2014/050892 entitled Textile Fibres and Textiles From BrassicaPlants of Sevenhuysen et al., the entire disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference, describes how Brassica fibres mayprovide at least some of the desirable textile-properties describedabove. Sevenhuysen et al. described one or more retting processes andfibre-isolation processes that can produce fibres of a suitable qualityfor manufacturing textile fibres with “cotton-like” characteristics.However, the fibre-isolation process described by Sevenhuysen et al. ismeticulous and detailed work that may not be amenable to large-scalefibre isolation and textile production.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to isolating plant fibresfrom a pre-processed plant input.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an apparatus thatcomprises one or more separating units that separate a fibre componentfrom other constituent components of the pre-processed plant input. Theapparatus may also comprise a drying-unit for drying and furtherisolating individual fibres from each other. Optionally, the apparatusmay also comprise a fluid-recycling system for reducing the overallliquid input and disposal requirements of the apparatus. The apparatusmay also comprise one or more conveying systems for moving inputs andprocessed intermediate-products through portions or all of theapparatus.

A first separation-unit receives the pre-processed plant input. Thefirst separation-unit is configured to physically separate a gelcomponent and a fibre component from a straw component of thepre-processed plant input. The second separation-unit substantiallyseparates and discards the straw component from the gel component andthe fibre component. The third separation-unit separates the fibrecomponent from some, most or substantially all of the gel component. Thefourth separation-unit separates the fibre component from any residualgel component through a series of treatment processes.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the pre-processed plantinput is a product of a non-mechanical process step, for example aretting process that produces a retted plant-product from plant straw.The first separation-unit comprises a friction-based separation step, apressure-based separation step or combination thereof to separate thegel component and the fibre component from the straw component of theretted plant product. The first separation-unit loosens the fibre, geland stalk components from each other. All components may remain in afluid that flows or is otherwise moved together to the secondseparation-unit. The first separation-unit comprises one or more fluidjets that provide fluid to wet the fibre, gel and stalk components andto assist with moving the intermediate materials to the secondseparation-unit. Without being bound by any particular theory, wettingthe fibre, gel and stalk components may minimize damage caused to thefibre component and/or promote movement of all components to the secondseparation-unit.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the secondseparation-unit receives the fibre, gel and stalk components from thefirst separation-unit as a stream of material carried in the fluid thatis flowing through and from the first separation-unit. Within someembodiments of the second separation-unit, a conveying system comprisesan endless-loop belt made from at least one of canvas, plastic or rubberand/or a studded material. This belt separates the stalk component fromthe gel and fibre components, and allows the stalk component to becollected separately from the gel and fibre components.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the third separation-unitreceives an intermediate material that comprises the gel and fibrecomponents from the second separation-unit. Within the thirdseparation-unit, the conveying system may comprise an endless-loop beltmade of a mesh material and one or more liquid jets that direct one ormore pressurized liquid streams to facilitate separating the fibrecomponent from the gel component. The third separation-unit alsocomprises a compression system that compresses the fibre component andthe gel component to force the gel component through the endlessmesh-belt, which separates the fibre component from the gel component.In some instances, after passing through the second separation-unit, theseparated fibre component comprises some residual gel component.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the fourthseparation-unit receives an intermediate material that comprises theseparated fibre component and some residual gel component. The fourthseparation-unit may comprise a portion of the conveying system of anendless-loop belt made of steel-mesh to move the fibre and gelcomponents received from the third separation-unit through a series ofchemical-based treatment processes of the fourth separation-unit.Alternatively, the chemical-based treatment processes may all occur in asingle container. Each treatment process of the fourth separation-unitexposes the fibres and residual gel material to a chemical treatment forremoving the residual gel component or other plant materials from thesurfaces of each individual fibre within the fibre component. Betweeneach chemical treatment, and after the last treatment, the fibrecomponent is rinsed with water. At this point in the apparatus, theseparated fibres are referred to as individualized fibres.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a drying-unit receivesthe individualized fibres from the fourth separation-unit 40 into twohandling-parts. The two handling-parts are arranged in a sequence withan input end at the beginning of the series and a final-product end atthe end of the series. The first handling-part allows the fibres to belayered. The second handling-part dries the layered fibres. At thispoint in the apparatus, the dried individualized-fibres are suitable forfurther processing to produce a textile product.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a fluid-recycling systemreceives the gel component from the third separation-unit. Within thefluid-recycling system the gel component is suspended in water. Theliquid recycling system is used to recover and recycle any processingfluids that are used within one or more processing sections or steps andthat may include some or most or all of the gel component that isseparated from the retted-plant input and the fibre component by theapparatus. The liquid recycling system separates some or most or all ofthe gel component from the processing fluid so that the processing fluidcan be recycled back into the apparatus and used at one or moredifferent processing sections.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method ofseparating a fibre component of a pre-processed plant-straw input from astalk component and a gel component. The method comprises the steps of:physically separating the stalk component from the fibre component andthe gel component by applying friction and/or pressurized fluid to thepre-processed plant-straw product; and separating the gel component fromthe fibre component by compressing the gel component through a meshmaterial.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of the present disclosure will become moreapparent in the following detailed description in which reference ismade to the appended drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side-elevation view schematic that shows one embodiment ofan apparatus according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a side-elevation view schematic that shows one embodiment ofan apparatus according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a side-elevation view schematic that shows another embodimentof an apparatus according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a side-elevation view schematic that shows one embodiment of afirst separation-unit according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 shows one embodiment of a second separation-unit according to thepresent disclosure, wherein FIG. 5A shows a side-elevation viewschematic of the second separation-unit and FIG. 5B shows an uppersurface of a conveying belt for use with the second separation-unit;

FIG. 6 is a side-elevation view schematic that shows one embodiment of athird separation-unit according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a side-elevation view schematic that shows a partial cut-awayof one embodiment of a portion of a fourth separation-unit according tothe present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic that shows one embodiment of a drying unitaccording to the present disclosure, wherein FIG. 8A shows aside-elevation partial cut-away view and FIG. 8B shows a top-plan viewof a portion of the drying unit;

FIG. 9 is an isometric view schematic that shows one embodiment of aliquid recycler system for use with the apparatus according to thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a logic-flowchart that shows one embodiment of a process forseparating fibres from an input according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an apparatus and amethod for separating constituent components of plant straw from eachother for isolating fibres that can then be used to make textiles andcloths.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an apparatus thatreceives a pre-processed plant-straw product as an input from whichseveral constituent components may be separated, including a fibrecomponent, a gel component and a stalk component. As used herein, theterm “straw” refers to the plant material that is left behind afterother components of the plant have been harvested. As used herein, theterms “fibre component”, “bast-fibre” and “fibre” all refer to acomponent of the straw that is useful in making textiles. As usedherein, the terms “gel component” and “gum” both refer to aheterogeneous plant material that may include lignins, pectins and otherplant-based gums. As used herein, the terms “stalk component” and“stalk” refer to a component of the straw that is left over after thefibre component and the gel component are separated from the straw. Asused herein, the term “about” refers to an approximately +/−10%variation from a given value. It is to be understood that such avariation is always included in any given value provided herein, whetheror not it is specifically referred to.

The apparatus comprises one or more separation units for separating thefibre component from the other constituent components of thepre-processed plant-straw product. Furthermore, the apparatus maycomprise a system for processing and recirculating liquids that are usedin the one or more separation units to reduce liquid-input requirementsof the apparatus.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method forseparating fibres from plant straw. The method may comprise the steps ofcollecting plant straw, pre-processing the plant straw to produce apre-processed plant-straw input and separating fibres from thepre-processed plant-straw input by either water jets, friction,compression or combinations thereof. The method may further comprise astep of collecting and recirculating liquids to reduce the liquid inputrequirements of the method.

Fibres that are separated by embodiments of the present disclosure maybe further processed to produce textiles with the desirable qualities ofuniformity, flexibility, fineness, cohesiveness, tenacity, absorbency,pliability, and amenability to various textile processing and/ortreatments.

Optionally, the plant may be a canola plant. However, a pre-processedstraw from other plants may be used when the straw components of thoseplants include bast fibres in the outer layers of the branches or stemsand gel components. Some embodiments in the present disclosure relate toan apparatus and a method for separating fibres from the straw of plantsother than canola, such as flax, ramie, kenaf, jut, nettle, okra andhemp.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, thepre-processed plant-straw product is a retted straw that is used as aninput. Retting is a process whereby chemicals or more specificallyenzymes partially degrade or disassociate tissues within the plantstraw. For example, retting is useful for separating fibres that arefound within the sclerenchyma of plant straw, also known as bast fibre,which is a layer of tissue that surrounds the phloem tissue and thexylem tissue in the plant straw. As will be appreciated by one skilledin the art, the pre-processed plant-straw product may also be preparedby means other than retting so that the pre-processed plant-strawproduct can be used as an input for embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

Sevenhuysen et al. describe one or more retting processes that produce aretted product that is a suitable input for embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The term “retted product” refers to the plant material thatmay be heterogeneous in that it contains the retted plant straw'sconstituent components. As used to herein, the term “fully-rettedproduct” and “input” refers to all of the fibre component having beenseparated from other plant components without any or with minimal damageto the content, structure or integrity of fibres in the fibre componentduring a retting or similar process.

The person skilled in the art will appreciate that the separating thatoccurs during the retting process does not produce fibres that arereadily useful for producing textiles and further processing ortreatments are required for this purpose. For example, the fully-rettedproduct contains the fibre component and the gel component withindistinct structures that are sometimes referred to as bundles or fibrebundles. The bundles may be adhered to parts of the stalk component.This adhesion is thought to occur because the fibres are attachedthrough various mechanisms, including the plant materials called ligninand pectin that create fibre bundles, the plant materials called gumsthat create waterproof barriers, the plant materials called cellulosethat create stalk nodes and branches in the straw. A fully-rettedproduct may have bundles of fibre component and gel component that canbe fully separated from the stalk component with mechanical action thatis designed to maintain the content, structure or integrity of fibreswithin the fibre component.

The gel component may comprise, but is not limited to: pectin, lignin,other polysaccharides and calcium ions. The fibre component is made upof individual fibres that may be suitable for further processing toproduce textiles once they are further separated from the gel componentand the stalk component.

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the present disclosure that relates to anapparatus 100 that comprises at least one of the following processingunits: a first separation-unit 10, a second separation-unit 20 and athird separation-unit 30, a fourth separation-unit 40, a drying-unit 50and an optional fluid-recycling system 60. The apparatus 100 may furthercomprise a conveying system 90 that conveys materials (inputs,intermediate products or final products) into, through and from theprocessing units of the apparatus 100. In some embodiments of thepresent disclosure, the conveying system 90 can comprise one or moreendless loop belts that conduct any materials thereupon in a givendirection within or between one or more processing units. Optionally,the materials upon the one or more belts of the conveying system 90 mayreceive a treatment while upon the one or more belts. In a furtheroption, the one or more belts of the conveying system 90 themselves maycontribute towards a treatment of the materials thereupon. For example,one or more of the belts of the conveying system 90 may facilitateseparation of different components of the material thereupon. Additionalto the conveying system 90 or alternative thereto, the inputs,intermediate products and final products can move into, through and outof the apparatus 100 while flowing under gravity while entrained in afluid. In some embodiments of the present disclosure there may also bebulk movements of intermediate products between or from one or more ofthe processing units.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the apparatus 100 mayhave an input end 100A and an output end 100B with the first, second,third, fourth separation-units 10, 20, 30, 40 and the drying unit 50arranged therebetween. In some embodiments of the present disclosure thefirst, second third, fourth separation-units and the fifth drying unit,10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 are arranged in series between the input andoutput ends 100A, 100B.

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of the apparatus 100 that is supported upona frame 110. The frame 110 supports the first separation-unit 10 abovethe second separation-unit 20, which is supported above the thirdseparation-unit 30. Materials within the apparatus 10 may movetherewithin by gravity (or fluid pressure) acting upon a fluid in whichthe materials are entrained, floating within or simply being moved by.The first separation-unit 10 receives a pre-processed plant-strawproduct, which is also referred to herein as the input (shown as thecurved arrow in FIG. 4). In some embodiments of the present disclosure,the input is a fully-retted product. The first separation-unit 10separates a gel component and a fibre component from a stalk componentof the input by reducing the adherence of the gel and fibre component tothe stalk component. The input may be placed on a first belt 91 of theconveying system 90 for conveying the input into the firstseparation-unit 10 in a first direction. The arrangement of the inputmay influence the fibre product yield and quality in the drying unit 50.Stalks should be placed on belt 91 in parallel to the rollers ofseparation-unit 10 and with gaps between stalks that prevents two ormore stalks from passing between the rollers at the same time.Alternatively, the input may be placed directly into the firstseparation-unit 10 by a belt (not shown) that is part of a hopper system120 (shown as dashed-line box in FIG. 2), where the hopper system 120temporarily holds the input and one or more belts place a desired amountof the input and in a desired orientation on the belt 91.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first separation-unit 10 comprises either orboth of at least two opposed rollers 12 and one or more liquid jets 14.The at least two rollers 12 may be horizontally positioned. The at leasttwo rollers 12 are positioned to come into contact with the input as itpasses between the at least two rollers 12. In some embodiments of thepresent disclosure, the at least two rollers 12 comprise a first roller12A and a second roller 12B. The first and second rollers 12A, 12B eachhave a substantially contiguous externally facing surface that iscovered in bristles or other textured points that extend away from theexternally facing surface. The bristles extend between about 0.5 inchesand about 2.0 inches away from the externally facing surface. The firstand second rollers 12A, 12B rotate about their respective longitudinalaxes. The bristles may be covered in a cloth. Suitable examples of thecloth include but are not limited to: polyester, rayon, microfiber, acellulosic fabric or combinations thereof. In some embodiments of thepresent disclosure, the first and second rollers 12A, 12B rotate atdifferent speeds and/or in different directions.

When the input passes through and into contact with the first and secondrollers 12A, 12B, the cloth, the differential rotational speed of thefirst and second rollers 12A, 12B or the combination of bothsubstantially loosen and/or separate the stalk component from the gelcomponent and the fibre component of the input (shown as the straightarrow in FIG. 4). In some instances, the separated stalk component mayalso include a portion of the gel component adhered to or otherwiseassociated with the separated stalk component. Through one or more of aphysical act of rubbing, wiping or stripping, the first and secondrollers 12A, 12B physically separate the stalk component from the gelcomponent and the fibre component. Optionally, the cloth may be selectedto provide an optimized co-efficient of friction for the externallyfacing surface of the first and second rollers 12A, 12B that contactsthe input. The individual rotational speed of the first and secondrollers 12A, 12B may also be selected to optimize the frictionalengagement of the input to increase the physical separation of the stalkcomponent from the gel component and the fibre component.

Additionally or alternatively, the first separation-unit 10 comprisesthe one or more jets 14 positioned above and below the rollers 12A and12B. The jets 14 direct pressurized processing fluids at the input whilepassing between the rollers 12A and 12B. The pressure of the processingfluids may range from between about 1 psi to about 10 psi. In someembodiments of the present disclosure the pressure of theprocessing-fluid is ejected from the one or more jets 14 at a pressureof about 3 psi. The volume and pressure of the processing fluids appliedto the input that is passing between rollers 12A and 12B is sufficientlyhigh to physically separate the stalk component from the gel componentand the fibre component. Preferably the pressure of the processingfluids is not so great as to cause significant damage to the structuralintegrity of the individual fibres within the fibre component. In someembodiments of the present disclosure, the processing fluids may be aliquid that is obtained from the fluid-recycling system 60 or it may beobtained from other sources. In some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the processing fluids is a liquid that is primarily water orit may be entirely water. In other embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the processing fluids may be another inert fluid.

FIG. 5 shows one embodiment of the second separation-unit 20 thatreceives an intermediate product of the first separation-unit 10, whichcomprises a mixture of the stalk component, the gel component and thefibre component (shown as the straight arrow in FIG. 5A). The fibrecomponent is often still adhered to the majority or all of the gelcomponent. The flow of fluids associated with the stalk, fibre and gelcomponents from the first separation-unit 10 may move some orsubstantially all of this material on to a second belt 92 which is partof the conveying system 90. Some, most or substantially all of the fibrecomponent and the gel component remain within the flow that continuesunder gravity (or further pressure provided by the one or more jets 14)to the third separation-unit 30 below (see larger curved arrow in FIG.5A). The stalk component, however, remains upon the second belt 92. Asdescribed further below, the second belt 92 separates the stalkcomponent from any of fibre and gel components that have not alreadyflowed onto the third separation-unit 30 below.

The second belt 92 has a first end 92A and a second end 92B. The secondbelt 92 may be made of rubber, plastic, canvas, metal-links or othermaterials than can convey the material received from the firstseparation-unit 10 towards a stalk container 24 (see smaller curvedarrow in FIG. 5A). An upper surface 92A of the second belt 92 receivesthe material from the first separation-unit 10 and, optionally, mayinclude one or more protrusions 94 that provide textured portions of thesecond belt 92 (see FIG. 5B). In operation, the upper surface 92A movesin a direction from the first end 92A to the second end 92B. The one ormore protrusions 94 may all be raised the same height above the uppersurface 92A of the second belt 92, or they may be different heights. Insome embodiments of present disclosure, one or more of the protrusions94 may be raised between about 0.1 inches to about 2 inches above theupper surface 92A of the second belt 92. In some embodiments of thepresent disclosure, one or more of the protrusions 94 may be raisedbetween about 0.25 and about 0.5 inches above the upper surface 92A ofthe second belt 92. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, oneor more of the protrusions 94 may be raised between about 0.25 inchesabove the upper surface 92A of the second belt 92. Optionally, the uppersurface 92A of second belt 92 is ribbed, studded, folded or otherwisetextured to enhance separation of the stalk component from the gel andfibre components. The stalk component may be moved to the stalkcontainer 24 by the second belt 92. The second end 92B of the secondbelt 92, which is shown in FIG. 5A as being the end that is closest tothe stalk container 24 can be elevated as compared to the first end 92A.This elevation may allow substantially some or all fluids—and the fibrecomponent and gel component therein—to flow downwardly towards and offthe first end 92A. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, thesecond belt 92 is a studded canvas belt. In some embodiments a stalkcomb 26 can be positioned upon a portion of the frame 110 between thesecond end 92B and the stalk container 24. The stalk comb 26 can catchor remove some or substantially all of any stalk that doesn't fall offthe belt 92 into the stalk container 34.

FIG. 6 shows one embodiment of the third separation-unit 30 thatreceives an intermediate product from the second separation-unit 20(shown by the vertical arrow in FIG. 6) due to the flow of fluids fromthe second separation-unit 20. This intermediate product comprises thegel component and the fibre component and it is preferably substantiallyfree of the stalk component. The third separation-unit 30 comprises athird belt 93 that is at least partially comprised of a mesh. The thirdbelt 93 has a first end 93A and a second end 93B. The mesh defines holestherethrough of a specific gauge from between about 150 microns (μm) toabout 250 μm. In some embodiments of the present disclosure the holeshave a median gauge of about 177 μm. In some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the third belt 93 may be an endless loop that has an upperlevel 93C and a lower level 93D. The upper and lower levels 93A, 93B maybe substantially horizontal and parallel. The upper and lower levels93A, 93B may be supported by and separated by at least two rollers thatare positioned at opposite ends of the third belt 93. In operation, theupper layer 93C moves from the first end 93A towards the second end 93B.

As the gel component and the fibre component move upon the third belt 93a further one or more jets 14 ¹ may apply processing fluids, such aswater or otherwise, to rinse the gel component and the fibre component.The further jets 14 ¹ may be positioned between the first end 93A andthe second end 93B and the further jets 14 ¹ are configured to directthe processing fluids at the material upon the upper layer 93C.

The third separation-unit 30 also comprises at least one set ofsubstantially opposed rollers 32 that are positioned above and below theupper layer 93C. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, thesubstantially opposed rollers 32 comprise an upper roller 32A and alower roller 32B. As the fibre component and the gel component passbetween the upper and lower rollers 32A, 32B, the fibre component andthe gel component pass through a pinch point where they directly contactboth of the upper and lower rollers 32A, 32B. At this pinch point, atleast some of the gel component is compressed and pushed through theholes defined by the third belt 93. The one or more further jets 14 ¹direct pressurized processing fluids at or near the pinch point tofacilitate pushing at least some of the gel component through the secondbelt 93. The pushed gel component and some or most or all of theprocessing fluids that is directed at the pinch point is collected inone or more collection trays 62 that are positioned between the upperand lower levels 93C, 93D. As will be discussed further below, thefluids within the one or more collection trays 62 may be transportedwithin the fluid-recycling system 60 for further processing and furtheruse within the apparatus 10. While FIG. 6 only shows one collection tray62 the person skilled in the art will understand that more collectiontrays 62 can be present at different positions between the first end 93Aand the second end 93B and between the upper and lower layer 93C, 93D.

Because some or most or all of the fibres within the fibre component arelarger than the holes in the third belt 93, the fibre component remainson an upper surface of the upper level 93C. As the fibre componentreaches the end of the upper level 93A, in the area where the upperlevel 93A passes around one of the rollers and transitions in to thelower level 93B, some or most or all of the fibre component falls off ofthe third belt 93 into one or more fibre collection trays 28 (shown asthe curved arrow in FIG. 6). Any portions of the fibre component that donot fall of the third belt 93 are washed off the lower level 93B bypressurized processing fluids that are directed at the upper level 93A,for example by the fluid delivered from the further jets 14 ¹. Theportion of the fibre component that is washed off the lower level 93B iscollected by further collection trays 28. FIG. 2 shows one embodiment ofa further collection tray 28 and FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of afurther collection tray 28A. As shown, the further collection tray 28Amay extend a greater distance between the first end 93A and the secondend 93B and it may include a ramp 29 that collects the processing fluidsand the fibre component therein that drop off the third belt 93 at aposition other than proximal the second end 93B.

FIG. 7 is a drawing of one embodiment of the fourth separation-unit 40that receives the fibre component from the further collection trays 28(or 28A as the case may be) of the third separation-unit 30. In someinstances, the fibre component may still have some residual gel adheredthereto, which causes a portion or all of the individual fibres withinthe fibre component to adhere to each other. To facilitate removal ofsome or most or all of this residual gel and to separate the individualfibres from each other, the fibre component is moved to the fourthseparation-unit 40.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the fourthseparation-unit 40 may comprise between about 1 and 10 separatetreatment processes that treat the fibre in batches. For example, someembodiments of the present disclosure may have multiple fibre-cleaningsections arranged in series. The fourth separation-unit 40 may compriseone or more containers 42 with one or more filters 44 positioned thereinand each treatment processes occur within container 42. For example, theone or more containers 42 may be vertically oriented, cylinders made ofsteel, plastic, other synthetic materials and the one or more filters 44may be made of cloth, plastic, stainless steel or combinations thereof.The containers 42 can receive different treatment liquids from holdingtanks 46 via one or more conduits 48. The cylindrical container 42 canmove to agitate the fibre component and treatment liquids horizontally,vertically or both for a period of time referred to herein as atreatment cycle. After the treatment cycle, is complete the treatmentliquids are drained from the cylindrical container 42 and the fibresremain within the cylindrical container 42 and they are rinsed withwater. After rinsing is complete, the rinse water is drained and thefibres remain within the cylindrical container 42. In some embodimentsof the present disclosure, the fibres can then be moved to anothercontainer 42 for a further treatment process or one container 42 can beused for all treatment processes, as described further herein below.

In some embodiments the present disclosure, seven treatment processes A,B, C, D, E, F and G may be arranged in series. In each treatmentprocess, the fibre is agitated within the treatment fluid for asufficiently long time to obtain a cleaning effect or a surfacemodification or both. The fibre may then be rinsed with water betweenthe treatment processes. The fibre component that exits treatmentprocess G is not rinsed.

For treatment process A, the cylindrical container 42 contains water asthe treatment liquid TLA. The fibres are placed in the water and thefibre-water mixture is continuously agitated and heated to about 92° C.The treatment cycle during which the fibre-water mixture is exposed tothe maximum temperature has a duration of between about 1 minute andabout 20 minutes. Some treatment cycles of the treatment process A havea median duration of about 3 minutes. After which, the hot water isdrained and the fibre component is cooled to about 40° C. or lower.Without being bound by any particular theory, the treatment process Amay decrease the adhesion of the other components to the fibre surfaces.

For treatment process B, the cylindrical container 42 contains atreatment liquid TLB that is a mixture of water, anionic surfactants,alkaline builders, water softening agents such as those that are presentin most commercially-available laundry detergents (collectively the“detergent-like components”). The detergent-like components are presentwithin the TLB in a concentration that ranges between about 1% wt/wt toabout 5% wt/wt of. In some embodiments of the present disclosure theconcentration of the detergent-like components within the TLB is about2% (wt/wt). The treatment cycle during which the fibres are exposed tothe TLB has a duration of between about between 2 minutes and about 30minutes. Some treatment cycles of the treatment process B have aduration of about 7 minutes. Without being bound by any particulartheory, the treatment process B may remove plant materials that adhereto the fibre surfaces by a hydrophilic mechanism.

For treatment process C, the cylindrical container 42 contains atreatment liquid TLC that is a mixture of water and an oil component.The oil component can be selected from one or more of vegetable oil,mineral oil or a synthetic oil. The oil component can have aconcentration within the treatment liquid C that ranges from 40% wt/wtto 60% wt/wt. In some embodiments of the present disclosure theconcentration of the oil component within the TLC is about 50% (wt/wt).The treatment cycle during which the fibres are exposed to the treatmentliquid TLC has a duration of between about 5 minutes and about 30minutes. Some treatment cycles of the treatment process C have aduration of about 14 minutes. After the treatment process C is completedand the treatment liquid TLC is substantially drained, some pressure isapplied to the fibres to remove some or all of the remaining treatmentliquid TLC was adhered to the fibre surfaces and this remainingtreatment fluid TLC is drained. Without being bound by any particulartheory, the treatment process C may remove some or all of the plantmaterials that adhere to the fibre surfaces via a lipophilic mechanism.

For treatment process D, the cylindrical container 42 contains atreatment liquid TLD that is a mixture of water, one or moresurfactants, a hydrotrope, and one or more salts, such as those types ofcomponents that found in commercially available kitchen soaps(collectively the “soap-like components”). The soap-like components arepresent in the TLD within a concentration that ranges from about 0.5%wt/wt to about 5% wt/wt. In some embodiments of the present disclosurethe concentration of the soap-like components within the TLD is about2.5% (wt/wt). The treatment cycle during which fires are exposed to theTLD has a duration of between about 2 and about 30 minutes. In someembodiments of the present disclosure the duration of the treatmentcycle with the TLD is about 7 minutes. Without being bound by anyparticular theory, the treatment process D may remove plant materialsthat adhere to the fibre surfaces due to either or both of a hydrophilicmechanism and a lipophylic mechanism.

For treatment process E, the cylindrical container 42 contains atreatment liquid TLE that is a mixture of water and live yeast culture,with an initial concentration yeast in the water is within a range ofabout 0.01% wt/wt to about 1% wt/wt. In some embodiments of the presentdisclosure the concentration of the yeast has an initial medianconcentration of about 0.1% (wt/wt). In some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the TLE may additionally or alternatively to the yeastculture, contain a mixture of water and an amylase enzyme or one or moreothers enzyme with a similar function (collectively the enzymecomponent). The enzyme component can be present in the TLE within aconcentration that ranges from about 0.05% wt/wt to about 2% wt/wt. Insome embodiments of the present disclosure the concentration of theenzyme component is about 0.5% (wt/wt). The treatment cycle during whichtime for exposure of the fibres to the TLE depends on the weight offibre being treated, the concentration of the yeast and water mixture,and the temperature of the mixture. For example exposing the fibres to ahigh concentration of yeast at 30° C. for between about 1 minutes toabout 5 minutes may suffice whereas exposing the fibres to a lowconcentration of yeast at 20° C. may require about an hour. Withoutbeing bound by any particular theory, the treatment process E may reducea chemical reactivity of the surface of the fibres.

For treatment process F, the cylindrical container 42 contains atreatment liquid TLF that is a mixture of water and protein. In someembodiments of the present disclosure, the protein or exudate of theprotein can alter the chemical reactivity of the surface of the fibres.Some examples of the proteins include, but are not limited to: albumin,ovalbumin, muco-proteins and globulins, the denatured state of theseproteins, synthetic proteins, manufactured protein and combinationsthereof. The concentrations of protein in the TLF ranges from about 1%to about 50%. In some embodiments of the present disclosure theconcentration of protein in the TLF is about 20%. The treatment cyclefor treatment process F has a duration of about 1 minute to about 5minutes. Without being bound by any particular theory, treatment processF may reduce the chemical reactivity of fibre surfaces.

For treatment process G, the cylindrical container 42 contains atreatment liquid TLG that is a mixture of water, one or more detergentsand one or more industrial fabric softeners. The detergent may have aconcentration that ranges from about 0.5% wt/wt to about 3% wt/wt. Insome embodiments of the present disclosure the concentration of thedetergent is about 1.5% (wt/wt). The industrial fabric softener may havea concentration that ranges from about 0.5% wt/wt to 3% wt/wt. In someembodiments of the present disclosure the concentration of theindustrial fabric softener is about 1.5% (wt/wt). The treatment cycleduring which the fibres are exposed to the detergent and the industrialfabric softener has a duration of between about 2 and about 30 minutes.In some embodiments of the present disclosure the treatment cycle oftreatment process G is about 7 minutes. Without being bound by anyparticular theory, treatment process G may reduce adhesion of one fibreto other fibres.

The person skilled in the art will appreciate that the order oftreatment processes A, B, C, D, E, F and G described may differ, or twoor more treatment processes maybe combined, or treatment processes maybe omitted and these variabilities can result from the type of fibrethat the apparatus 100 is being used to isolate. The person skilled inthe art will also appreciate that the treatment process A, B, C, D, E, Fand G may occur in single container 42 or in multiple containers 42.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure a single enzyme-treatmentwith an enzyme, such as pectinase, or an enzyme or an enzyme mixturewith a similar function to pectinase, may be incorporated into the seventreatment processes A, B, C, D, E, F and G. In some embodiments of thepresent disclosure the enzyme-treatment may replace one or more of theseven treatment processes A, B, C, D, E, F and G.

FIG. 8 shows one embodiment of the dryer unit 50, which is also referredto herein as the fifth separation-unit. The dryer unit 50 receivesindividualized fibres from the fourth separation-unit 40 by a bulktransfer, such as by hand or tool, or by another belt (not shown) of theconveying system 90. The fifth separation-unit 50 may dry the isolatedand collected fibres in a batch process to produce individualizedfibres. The fifth separation-unit 50 may comprise a fan 52, a container54 and a collection filter or bag 56. In operation, the fibres areplaced inside of the container 54 and the fan 52 moves air through thecontainer 54 into the filter 56. Air in the separation-unit 50 movesfrom the fan 52 to the filter 56 under the substantially lowest pressurethat is required to move the air through the filter 56. All componentsof the fifth separation-unit 50 can be sealed to be airtight except forthe fan 52 and the filter 56. Wet fibres may be placed in container 54when no air is moving through an access hole that can be closed with asealable and removable lid. Equipment 58 may also be positioned withinthe container 54 such as one or more interacting combs, brushes andstudded surfaces that can be used to agitate, by lifting and separating,the wet fibres from each other. Substantially air-tight gloves 59 canextend through a sidewall of the container 54 so that a user can agitatethe fibres therein with one or more of the tools 58. In some embodimentsof the present disclosure, the collection filter 56 may be made of wovenor non-woven polyester, a woven or non-woven stainless steel mesh,synthetic material, of any material that can function as a filter withthe openings that are sized between about 5 μm and about 25 μm.

Agitating the wet fibres causes the fibres therein to be at leastpartially individualized and at least partially dried. Optionally, theflow of inert gas pushes the at least partially individualized and atleast partially dried fibres onto a fibre filter for collection.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the equipment 58 incontainer 54 may comprise two or more rotating brushes where thebristles of one brush overlap with the neighbouring brush. The brushesrotate in opposite directions. One can brush pick up wet fibres from asolid surface and the wet fibres are then passed from one brush to thenext, and the solid surface, until the fibres are dry. The moving air incontainer 54 moves the dry fibres from the brushes to the fibrecollection filter 56.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the equipment 58 cancomprise a cone-shaped circular surface one or more projections thatextend away from the surface and above the surface, and one or morerotating members with filaments that project away from the members andbelow the members. The rotating members move in a plane that issubstantially parallel to the cone-shaped circular surface. Thefilaments that rotate above the cone-shaped circular surface movebetween the projections reach this surface. The one or more rotatingmembers may be connected to a rotating support member, a central hub orother suitable means for supporting and rotating the one or morerotating members.

The wet fibres are dropped on to the projections at the highest point ofthe cone-shaped surface. The movement of the filaments of the rotatingmembers push the wet fibres towards a peripheral edge of the cone-shapedcircular surface. Optionally, a substantially constant flow of inert gasis directed towards the first surface to help dry out the wet fibreswhile they are being agitated.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the fifth drying-unit 50may comprise a liquid container with an inert fluid that does not reactwith the material components of the fibres. Examples of the inert fluidinclude, but are not limited to: a fluid-fluorocarbon and other naturalor synthetic inert fluids, or combinations thereof. The individualisedfibres may be placed in the liquid container, and the fluid and fibresare stirred in a circular direction. The inert fluid replaces the wateradhering to the fibres which has the effect of drying the fibres. Theinert fluid adhering to the fibres can then be removed by moving air.

FIG. 9 shows one embodiment of the fluid-recycling-system 60 thatreceives processing fluids from at least the third separation-unit 30.The fluid-recycling-system 60 collects and recycles processing fluidsthat are used by the apparatus 100, specifically the thirdseparation-unit 30. The fluid-recycling-system 60 comprises one or moretanks 62 that are fluidly connected with one or more pumps by one ormore fluid conduits. The processing of plant straw to produce fibresthat are suitable for making textiles requires relatively large amountsof processing fluids and particularly liquids. The present disclosurediscusses water with a portion of the gel component suspended therein asgel particles as an example of a suitable processing fluid. It isunderstood that other processing fluids may also be produced andcollected and reused in a similar fashion by the fluid-recycling-system60, as described herein below.

The use of water during mechanical separation processes may reduce thedamage and breakage of the individual fibres within the fibre component.The fluid-recycling-system 60 reduces the water requirements fromexternal sources. In effect, the recycling system 60 may improve theeconomics of the apparatus 100 and decrease the environmental impact ofsuch water input and disposal requirements.

Water may have a portion of the gel component therein as a suspension ofgel particles. In some embodiments, the fluid-recycling-system 60separates some or most or all of the gel component from the water sothat the water can be recycled back into the apparatus 100. The watercollected by the fluid-recycling-system 60 is directed to a separationtank 62 by one or more conduits.

The separation tank 62 introduces air into the suspension by a mixingaction. Without being bound by any particular theory, the air can attachto the suspended gel-particles causing the gel particles to collect intoa layer of floating gel-particles. In some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the separation tank 62 includes one or more rotatableblades, wires or fixtures designed to mix, agitate or froth liquidmixtures that can rotate at around 1000 to 1800 rpm. Optionally, therotatable blades are positioned below the surface of the suspension, forexample between about 2.5 cm to about 7.5 cm below the surface. When therotatable blades are rotating at or near these speeds, they can create avortex within the suspension, which forces the air into the suspension.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, it has been observed thatabout 98% of the floating gel-particles are positioned at or near thesurface of the tank 62 after only about 3 minutes of rotation of therotating blades. The layer of floating gel-particles needs between 2 and3 minutes to form on top of the liquid and suspension in tank 62. Tank62 is configured to maintain a substantially calm-surface. After sometime, the majority of the floating gel-particles float up and collectupon the substantially calm-surface of the liquid in the tank 62.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the layer of floating gelparticles is then conveyed by the moving liquid in tank 62. The liquidin tank 62 moves through tank 62 when the liquids from the thirdseparation-unit 30 enter tank 62 at one end of the tank and one or morepumps remove the liquids from the opposite end of tank 62. Tank 62comprises a separator 64 that can be a skimming floater or a rotatingdisc, as described further below. The skimming floater is in fluidcommunication with a suction pump 66 that removes the floatinggel-particles, which may also be referred to herein as gum, from thesurface of the skim tank 62. The suction pump can attach to a hose thatredirects the gum to a container outside the tank.

Alternatively, the separator 64 is one or more rotating discs of whichthe bottom half is submerged in the water. The discs can be positionedvertically or slanted while positioned in the water. The surface of thediscs would attract the floating or suspended gums, which may consist ofmaterial that attracts gums, such as Teflon™, aluminum oxide, fabrics orsponges of any suitable type. As the discs rotate they lift gums out ofthe water. A boom comprised of a length of metal, plastic or syntheticmaterial touches the half of the disc that is not in the water andwipes, scrapes or rubs the gums off of the discs. The surface of thisboom may be grooved to allow the gums being removed to flow down theboom and can attach to a hose that redirects the gum to a containeroutside the tank. Optionally, the removed gel-particles may be collectedfor further use.

Once some or substantially all of the gel-particles are removed from thesuspension, the gel-particle content of the suspension is substantiallydecreased. For the purposes of the present disclosure, at this point thesuspension is a liquid that is substantially water, which is referred toherein as recovered water. For example, in using some embodiments of thepresent disclosure, it has been observed about 1% to 3% (wt/wt) ofgel-particles remain in the recovered water. The recovered water maythen be introduced back into the apparatus 100 by a pump and one or moreof the jets 14, 14 ¹ for use in one or more of the separation units 10,20, 30, 40 or at other positon within the apparatus 100.

Substantially decreasing the gel-particle content of the recovered wateravoids introducing gel particles into the apparatus 100, which isdesirable because reintroduced gel-particles may interfere with some ofthe various functions of the apparatus 100. Among other things,reintroduced gel-particles can interfere with one or more belts orrollers of the conveying system 90, one or more rollers of the first andsecond separation-units 10, 20 and possibly one or more of the variouscomponents of the third separation-unit 30.

Some embodiment of the present disclosure use one or more jets 14 ¹¹¹ atvarious points within the apparatus 100. The jets 14 ¹¹¹ can beadvantageous in separating the fibre component from the stalk componentand/or the gel component. In some embodiments of the present disclosure,the fluid-recycling-system 60 reduces the loss of processing fluids and,therefore, the more jets 14 ¹¹¹ may be used without substantiallyincreasing the processing fluid input requirements. For example, in someembodiments of the present disclosure, the apparatus 100 comprises atleast two sets of further jets 14 ¹¹¹ that direct a pressurizedprocessing fluids at the fibre component and the gel component upon thethird belt 93 before the opposed rollers 32.

In use, the apparatus 100 performs a method of processing plant strawfor separating the fibre component from the stalk component and the gelcomponent. The method comprises at least the steps of collecting plantstraw; retting the plant straw to produce a pre-processed plant-strawproduct for use as a process input; separating the stalk component ofthe input from a fibre component and a gel component by friction andspraying with the processing fluid under medium pressure. The methodfurther comprises the steps of transferring most of the stalk componentaway from the fibre component and the gel component for drying and lateruse; separating the gel component from the fibre component bycompressing the gel component through a mesh and collecting the fibrecomponent from a first side of the mesh and collecting a suspension ofgel particles in the processing fluid.

Optionally, the method further comprises the steps of collecting theprocessing fluid; mixing the processing fluid to introduce air thereinfor causing the suspended gel particles within the processing fluid tofloat; removing and collecting the floating gel-particles to producerecovered water. Optionally the recovered water can be used during oneor more of the steps described above.

FIG. 10 shows a logic-flowchart that depicts another embodiment of thepresent disclosure that relates to a method for separating a fibrecomponent from a retted-straw input. The dotted lines represent optionalprocess-steps that include a second water and detergent recycler forprocessing larger amounts of fibre.

1. An apparatus for separating one or more fibres from a pre-processedplant-straw input, the apparatus comprising: a first separation-unit forreceiving the pre-processed plant-straw input and for separating a stalkcomponent from a fibre component and a gel component of thepre-processed plant-straw product by friction and/or pressure; and athird separation-unit for separating at least a portion of the gelcomponent from the fibre component by compressing the at least a portionof the gel component through a mesh.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the third separation-unit comprises a belt that is at leastpartially made up of the mesh and wherein the belt is configured toreceive the gel component and the fibre component.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 2, wherein the third separation-unit comprises a pair of opposedrollers that are positioned above and below the mesh and wherein theopposed rollers define a pinch point where the at least a portion of thegel component is compressed through the mesh.
 4. The apparatus of claim3, further comprising one or more jets for directing a pressurized flowof process fluids towards the mesh.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, furthercomprising one or more jets for directing a pressurized flow of processfluids towards or proximal to the pinch point.
 6. The apparatus of anyone of claim 5, further comprising a collection tray for receiving thegel component that has been compressed through the mesh and wherein thecollection tray is positioned below the mesh.
 7. The apparatus of anyone of claim 6, further comprising a further collection tray forreceiving the fibre component from the mesh and wherein the collectiontray is positioned below the mesh.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe first separation-unit comprises a pair of opposed rollers forreceiving the pre-processed plant-straw input therebetween and whereinthe pair of opposed rollers apply friction to the pre-processedplant-straw input.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the pair ofopposed rollers comprise bristles and/or are covered in a cloth selectedfrom a group consisting of: polyester, rayon, microfiber, a cellulosicfabric and combinations thereof.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, whereinthe pair of opposed rollers rotate at the same speed or differentspeeds.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the pair of opposedrollers rotate in the same direction or different directions.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 10, further comprising one or more jets that direct apressurized treatment fluid at or proximal to between the pair ofopposed rollers.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising asecond separation-unit for receiving an intermediate material from thefirst separating-unit, wherein the second separation-unit comprises atextured belt for separating the stalk component from the fibrecomponent and the gel component.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1 furthercomprising a fourth separation-unit for receiving the fibre componentfrom the third separating-unit, wherein the fourth separation-unitcomprises a container and internal filter and the container isconfigured to treat the fibre component with one or more chemical-basedprocess treatments for separating the fibre component from a residualgel-component.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the chemical-basedprocess treatments are selected from a group consisting of: exposure towater and heat; exposure to a mixture of water and one or moredetergent-like compounds; exposure to a mixture of water and one or moreoils; exposure to a mixture of water and one or more soap-likecompounds; exposure to a mixture of water and one or more proteins;exposure to a mixture of water, one or more detergent-like compounds andone or more industrial fabric softener compounds; and combinationsthereof.
 16. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a fluidrecycling-system for recovering process fluids from the apparatus andfor separating gel particles from the process fluid to produce recoveredwater.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising one or moreconduits for conducting the recovered water for use in the apparatus.18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the fluid recycling-systemcomprises a collection tank for receiving process fluids with a gelcomponent therein from the apparatus and a separator for causingparticles of the gel component to float.
 19. A method of processing apre-processed plant-straw input for producing a fibre, the methodcomprising steps of: a. separating a stalk component, a fibre componentand a gel component from the pre-processed plant-straw input by applyingfriction and/or pressurized treatment fluids to the pre-processedplant-straw product; and b. separating the gel component from the fibrecomponent by compressing the gel component through a mesh.
 20. Themethod of claim 19, further comprising steps of: c. collectingprocessing fluids used during step a or step b; d. reducing an amount ofthe gel component in the collected processing fluids to producerecovered water; and e. using the recovered water as at least part ofthe treatment fluids in step a and/or as a treatment fluid in step b.